Body armor plate carrier reccomendations

xtry51 said:
The plates I have are .220" thick. Sounds like that 3/8" plate you have is someone hosing you by selling AR400, which won't stop rifle rounds but will stop common handgun with minimal deformation. Rounds like 9mm, .40. 45ACP. Next time I see you I'll bring a 1/2" AR400 plate. The steel we shot last time was AR500 1/2". Those plates have each taken well over 5k rounds each of every variety of 5.56 and plenty of .308. They're over four years old and we use them nearly every training session.

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Hey, there's a big misconception you can't be happy and a jerk at the same time [laugh][wink]
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im not sure if i bought it or a friend did and left it but I'm pretty sure it came from targetmanllc, who is a pretty reputable dealer. the plate has taken 5.56 and .308 rounds inside of 100 and been fine, but the 7N6 5.45 went through. Most of my other targets are all 1/2" AR500 and they will take anything i throw at them.

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rkwjunior said:
That's been debunked right here on NES.

At the end of my range session there is a 3" deep trench in front of my gong, this reminds me every time never to put steel on my chest.
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I've never seen it done personally but people usually wrap the plates in something to prevent spawn.

before we get too off topic on steal vs ceramic plates, OP you should check out these threads you can pick up a lot of info.

http://www.northeastshooters.com/vb...r-Body-Armor-BOB-Vests-Warbelts-IFAK-Kits-etc

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_10/3...ost_pics_of_your_Plate_Carrier_THREAD___.html
 
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Cheapest way I can find to achieve Level IV Protection in a solid plate carrier

Level III Plates - the Target man lined ar500 Spartan - $190 (these could be worn standalone if need be)
Level IIIA Plate backers - Tactical Assault gear Banshee soft armor package - $280
Banshee PC - Bulletproofme.com $130
Banshee Shoulder pads - Tactical Assault gear - $25
$625 bucks
 
My friend works at Crye and made me a carrier. Problem is, he didnt put straps on it [laugh] he told me that I need to do some work to it now....

I like Crye a lot but they are up there in price. 511 makes some good stuff but dont skimp on the plates!
 
xtry51 said:
The steel we shot last time was AR500 1/2". Those plates have each taken well over 5k rounds each of every variety of 5.56 and plenty of .308. They're over four years old and we use them nearly every training session.
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I personally shot one of those plates a bunch at 25 yards with xm193, no pass throughs.
 
The Targetman AR500 now Spartan Armor, is only 1/4 inch level III. Bought as part of a group buy last year
 
I have an uncoated 1/4" AR500 plate, if I had a safe range I would throw all types of xm193 at it. Steel plate is a little different then a cardboard target, I don't want to be throwing rifle rounds at one in my backyard, yet anyways. I am betting 193 will hardly dimple the plate.
 
Now that I am thinking about this, I really want to do this. Buy a bunch of different 5.56 ammo and shoot that plate to see what actually happens. I have handled xtry's plate that he posted that picture of, and was surprised at the damage, or lack there of, actually done to it.
 
gearwhore14 said:
So what I should have said was, when I put my medium plates in there, it didn't seem like anything bigger would fit in terms of width. Are the Large SAPI's just longer? If someone has put large SAPI's in a PIG, I wouldn't argue with them.
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Plate sizes via wikipedia:

Extra Small - 184 x 292 mm (7¼ x 11½ in)
Small - 222 x 298 mm (8¾ x 11¾ in)
Medium - 241 x 318 mm (9½ x 12½ in)
Large - 260 x 337 mm (10⅛ x 13¼ in)
Extra Large 280 x 356 mm (11 x 14 in)

i dont doubt your personal experience, my plates are either small or medium, i forget, but i have ample room. SKD advertises it as a one size fits most PC.

from SKD:

"One Size Fits Most – The adjustable plate harness and the internal Velcro stabilizers allow the wearer to use any size SAPI/ESAPI plate from Small through Extra Large (or similar corner cut plates) without having the plates bottom out or swim around in the carrier. The PIG is the only plate carrier that can secure this wide range of plate sizes while maintaining such a low footprint on the wearer."
 
Lcstyle said:
It's 2014.

Step up to the PLATE

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Very cool. That is definitely the way to go if your budget allows. I would buy that over ceramic any day. I plan to start off with steel just because of cost constraints initially, but once I am able to upgrade to a product such as this, the steel plates will still retain value either as backup/spare rig, or even for range targets so they would never be a wasted investment.
 
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PIG carrier. Plates the lightest ones your wallet can afford.

Hit the Tactical gear thread. We've got pages of stuff listed there for all price points.
 
Cloverleaf Firearms Group said:
http://www.tacticalassaultgearstore...+$115.99+WHILE+SUPPLIES+LAST&utm_medium=email

Just got this by email. That's pretty cheap for a banshee
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+1, it's a steal at that price.

I initially cheaped out and bought the Condor plate carrier, thinking the likelihood of ever having to use this armor was so low it wasn't worth throwing the added money for a Tactical Tailor, Shellback, etc. Not to knock the Condor, but I know I'm not stating anything new when I say the Shellback is in a completely different league. I could not be happier.

The difference in size and mobility alone make it well worth it, let alone the quality and fact the stitching on the Condor already looked to be wearing thin in some areas and I never even used it for anything more than throwing it on around the house.

Not the best pic, but here's a rough comparison of the size difference:

311telx.jpg


Some added pics for your time/gear thread:

mvmb9k.jpg


28k214.jpg
 

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